Faith Venture

Jesus used a metaphor of a vine and branches to describe living in the life force of God while bearing fruit in our lives.

Bearing healthy fruit in a grape vine requires judicious pruning to focus the life force coming in through the soil through the vine to the branches to the fruit.

A little later, Paul talked about circumcising the heart—a picture of cutting as a sacrifice and symbol of focusing the heart on God.

It’s always amazing to discover the weekend reading merging together to reveal a truth for spiritual formation.

When we focus our hearts on the source of life—God—then we live the “with-God” life as Richard Foster and Dallas Willard would describe it. We can channel our renewed energies into bearing fruit by doing love to our neighbor so—both those near and those far away.

Pruning is a never-ending process for the vine. Similarly for us. We have daily distractions—heck, minute-by-minute distractions—that interfere with the flow of the spirit. Prune away non-essential distractions and focus on what is good and meaningful. And then you have no need for laws and rules. Doing the right thing just comes naturally.

“My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” (Letter of James chapter 2)

James, brother of Jesus, writing to the new congregations of people striving to figure out what it means to follow Jesus, looks into the soul of those groups and finds a problem. Favoritism. Divisiveness. One group of people is “in” and another is “out”.

Even to this day, we have churches who hold that women are to be segregated out into “women’s roles” and not leadership. Even to this day, we have congregations that cling to racial homogeneity rather than inclusiveness. We have congregations that segregate out homosexual people holding them in a second-class status (attend in order to be “saved” but never leadership).

How many other ways to we differentiate and divide people? Is this what Jesus taught by word and example?

James says later that those who judge people so will themselves face harsh judgement.

I was shown a better way by God. It’s called accepting the common humanity of all people, recognizing and rejoicing in differences, and open to all to partake of the fruit of the spirit and find their unique service in the spirit.

Like Jesus said about Mary (Martha’s sister), choose the better way. Live in the kingdom of God.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you

Rudyard Kipling

Journalists constantly look for the Big Story. Employers of journalists look for stories that raise emotions, which raise readership, which raises the value of advertising, which adds profits.

This is not a US-only phenomenon. Everywhere I observe it’s the same stirring of emotions.

The opening lines of Kipling’s poem If gives us a hint. By the way, the conclusion of all the “if’s” in the poem is “then you’ll be a man” (allowing for 19th Century perspectives).

Temperance is one of the classic Stoic virtues is also a virtue practiced by Jesus. He experienced the swirling emotions of power and insurrection, stared them down, and kept to the mission of ushering in the kingdom of God build upon love and justice.

So should we, as we stare down constant attempts to stir our emotions to no good for ourselves. Maintain our practice of kingdom principles—love God with all of our being and love our neighbor as Jesus loved.

I opened today’s emails and had received notice from Hannover, Germany that the world’s largest manufacturing trade show has been postponed from April to July. The largest mobile technology show—Mobile World Congress—in Barcelona, Spain cancelled last month. Many companies are cancelling or postponing conferences and face-to-face meetings.

Then there is disruption of the world’s supply chain for manufacturing. Businesses will be starved for parts before long. This causes the emotional trading in the stock and bond markets to drive prices down.

Yes, we have yet another spreading virus—Coronavirus which causes a disease called COVID-19. We’re not sure what its effects are, so we panic.

I go to sources that have built trust with me for many years and seek advice. I’m passing this along, not as a doctor (which I am not), but as an informed layperson.

You can try buying a mask, but most likely it will not help you. In Japan, where the wearing of masks started, it is the sick people who wear them to prevent spreading colds and flu and the like.

Best is washing your hands—often. And avoid touching your face in between times.

Then, you can avoid people who are sick. Remember that, so far, flu is killing many more people than COVID-19.

If you are sick—PLEASE STAY HOME. And if you have kids, don’t send them to school.

Maintain your own good health and immune system. Fresh garlic shows good results. Keep your vitamin D3 up. Some mushrooms help the immune system (but consult with a medical person for your own unique situation since some can interfere with medicines or other conditions)—trying perhaps Reishi, Maitake, Shiitake, oyster mushrooms.

Maintain a level head. Don’t stress—which lowers your resistance. The stock market is down. It’ll recover in the long term.

Consider reducing travel for the next month or so. (Says the guy who recently returned from Germany.)

Maintaining your body and mind are a part of overall spiritual discipline. Here’s to your good health.

Still thinking about our heart (see Friday’s post), I recently read this from Thich Nhat Hahn, “When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We cannot accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.”

As we become more self-aware, we realize that when we cannot tolerate even the smallest act or word from others then we are also most unhappy within ourselves.

We can expand this work of compassion from those physically close to us to encompass all those who are different from us. We can enjoy differences rather than be fearful of them.

What a better way to live.

Father Richard Rohr writes, “Sins are fixations that prevent the energy of life, God’s love, from flowing freely.”

Ever since I was young and exploring science I gravitated toward physics rather than biology. From an early age I learned about energy as a building block of the universe and of life.

When I teach young people to become soccer referees, I like to teach energy. As in, show energy, expend energy, appear energetic. I do not like to see sports officials appear lethargic and disinterested.

When we look at our lives, we need to develop habits that increase our energy. We need to eat the right foods (good proportion of healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein), train our physical bodies, get good sleep.

Then there is the spiritual source of energy. We can train the physical self, but there is another source of psychic energy that flows from God that helps us wake up and be alive to the day’s experiences.

We cultivate that through daily morning meditation, contemplation, and prayers. Getting in touch with the Creator of us all. Letting the energy of the Holy Spirit flow into and through us—just like Jesus’ example of being the grape vine and we the branches allowing the life force to flow through us into the fruit we bear.

Ian Morgan Cron writes in The Road Back to You about getting out of our own way. We can let worries, emotions, negative people, bad habits all block that flow of energy. With some self-awareness, we can get out of our own way and stop blocking God’s energy from flowing.

The famous Swiss theologian Karl Barth was asked toward the end of his life if he could sum up his thinking. He quoted from the little song, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

What I’ve learned from 50 years of study is that we who are students need to be careful about discussions of “the Bible tells me so.”

Reading 18th and 19th century American southern preachers, I discovered that the Bible tells us that people from Africa are not really human fully. Therefore, there is no moral wrong about slavery.

A little later, I read where the Bible tells us that women are not equal to men, and therefore, they should not be accepted into leadership, ordination, preaching, and so forth.

Later still, I read the preachers who taught that if someone divorces (not through abuse—another subject) simply to marry someone more “acceptable”, then they are unacceptable sinners and not worthy for any type of church leadership.

Most Christians have moved past all of these myths, as well they should have.

Today the Bible tells us that people who are homosexual are unacceptable sinners and not worthy for any type of church leadership.

I’m betting that in fewer than 20 years a generation will die and a new generation of Bible readers will consign this idea to that same dustbin of failed ideas as ideas about black people, women, divorced people (well, prejudice remains, but it’s no longer mainstream).

The arguments in every case were the same. But I think that we will eventually come around to the teaching of Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine)—the New Testament must be interpreted in light of Jesus’ two commands, that we love God and that we love our neighbor.

Jesus after all brought the Kingdom of God—an entirely new realm among us where love rules over power and legalism. The resurrection proved it. And that is what we anticipate as we refocus during Lent.

Lent always sneaks up on me. It’s not like Christmas that comes blasting into consciousness with it’s carols, “spirit”, gifts, trees.

No, Lent lurks beneath the surface until suddenly—Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in French, Carnival in others. The final celebration before 40 days of fasting and denying oneself pleasure.

Neither my wife or I grew up practicing Lent. We Methodists made fun of the things the Lutherans gave up to sacrifice for Lent. Like watermelon. It was a sacrifice to go without watermelon. But you were not going to find it in any store even if you had a craving.

I presumed for my wife it was because she was a Baptist, although I know of Lent observing Baptists. Sort of like the time I discovered Baptists who drank alcohol, smoked, and swore.

Unlike January 1, maybe Lent is a better time to focus mindfully on a new habit. A new or different meditation. A new or better way to treat other humans I meet during the day. Maybe think more deeply—especially before speaking.

The problem with not being a Lent-observing sort of person is that I never celebrated Mardi Gras either—except for the year I was in Louisiana. But it’s not to late in life to raise a glass and celebrate the beginning of Lent and the road to Easter.